The Kansas Jayhawks hoisted the NCAA championship trophy after defeating North Carolina 72-69 in New Orleans on Monday night.
rsugg@kcstar.com
Kansas officially begins its defense of the 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship against Omaha on Monday night.
That 7:00 p.m. game will be at Allen Fieldhouse, four days after former KU guard Jeff Bossey’s exhibition game against the Pittsburgh State Gorillas.
Hint for that rehearsal is Thursday at 7pm, also at KU’s heritage-rich fieldhouse.
The Jayhawks are considered a team in both the Big 12 regular season and 2023 NCAA crown conversations, based on being ranked 5th preseason in both the Associated Press and USA Today polls. increase.
Indeed, the Jayhawks lost three starters and three rotation players from a 34-6 team. However, many fans and pundits believe that forward Jaren Wilson will succeed Ochai Agbaj (last year’s team’s top scorer) this year and guard Grady Dick will replace Christian Brown (an effective outside scorer). , ball mover, defender). .
Many also credited the continued improvement of national title point guard Dahuan Harris and the excellent defensive play of Kevin McCuller, a move to Texas Tech who could be the team’s top defensive stopper since Marcus Garrett. is watching
As far as filling in big man David McCormack and his backup, Mitch Lightfoot, Ernest Uday, KJ Adams, Zach Clemens and Zby Ejiofor’s frontcourt (as well as Kam Martin returning from injury) have a lot to offer. I have the idea of Well controlled, as is the rim protection.
Excluding AP and USA Today, 247sports.com ranked KU 7th in the preseason. On the more skeptical side, CBSsports.com currently doesn’t consider KU a top 10 team in the preseason. Matt Norlander on the Thursday website Ranked 12th in KU to start the season.
Norlander ranks KU behind future Big 12 member Houston (4th overall), as well as Big 12 entries Baylor (6th) and Texas (11th).
Here’s Norlander’s take on KU going into the 2022-23 season:
“Bill Self just won his second national championship, and get ready to prove your coaching talent for the 2,947th time. (And maybe my rankings look bad in the process. Sure NBA draft.” Please do not return the pick.
“Dahuan Harris (5.4 ppg, 4.2 apg) is back on offense and Jaren Wilson (11.1 ppg, 7.4 rebounds ppg) will keep his position on the wing. is most important for KU to maintain its progress with Baylor and Texas, the first five numbers are 2 for five-star sniper Grady Dick, 4 for Texas Tech transfers and big-time bruisers. Kevin McCuller, and perhaps newcomer Ernest Hude, rounds out: Few national champions in the last 20 years have had to replace so many players and bring back so few scholarship players. , the only program to win the title 30 years in a row was Florida in 2006 and mid-2007.”
Meanwhile, CBSsports.com’s Zachary Pereles said: Wrote a specific piece on Monday The “big problem” for each top 10 team going into next season.
Regarding KU, he writes: Ochaiagbaji and Christian Brown were both first-round picks in his NBA Draft, while David McCormack was the star of Kansas’ offense last season. The veteran big man led the team in utilization percentage for the second straight season, recorded his fifth-highest offensive rebound percentage in the nation, and properly scored his four points in the final of the National Championship game. Did. He’s left with giant shoes to fill, and the potential options for filling them are largely unknown. “
The Jayhawks aren’t committing to a retitled NCAA, but they’re probably looking forward to being in the mix.
“Last year’s team was more experienced,” point guard Harris said at the recent Big 12 Media Day. “There are a lot of new people in this year’s team. There are a lot of players who haven’t even played since last year, so they’re basically rookies too.
“What we have now is an inexperienced team. We lost a lot of people[from last year]so we have a lot to learn now.”
Small forward Wilson said: All year long we used to say ‘we have to fight to win’. In defense this year, we have to understand that we’re going to aim for everyone’s best shot. Everyone wants to beat the champion. No one wants to see a champion defend his championship. we are used to it. This is Kansas. We always have goals. “
The Jayhawks aren’t shy about talking about a possible return.
“We could possibly do the same,” said Wilson. “Winning a college championship is already crazy enough. To have the opportunity to do it again and be able to help me understand what it takes to get there is very special.” .”
Many months pass before NCAA Selection Sunday. In the meantime, KU Coach Self doesn’t mind him discussing Big 12 title prospects.
That’s the team’s first goal each season. Players yell “Big 12 Champions” in unison at practice to break out of their respective groups.
“We are very excited about this year’s group. Young, inexperienced. I hope I get the chance,” Self said.
It all starts with Thursday’s dress rehearsal in front of an expected 16,300 fans, before Monday’s Opener vs. Omaha also takes place at a packed Fieldhouse.
Gary Bedore covers all aspects of Kansas basketball in The Star. He attended his KU and was born and raised in Chicago and Lyle, Illinois.
